Filipino participants receive communion from Rev. Fr. Dominic Lim, OFM.

The Philippine Embassy in Ottawa, led by Chargé d’Affaires, a.i Francisco Noel Fernandez III, sponsored and participated in the first Simbang Gabi mass last Saturday, 15 December, at the Assumption Parish Church in Ottawa. The mass was officiated by Rev. Fr. Dominic Lim, OFM.

The Simbang Gabi masses provide an opportunity for the Filipino diaspora in Ottawa to keep the Filipino Christmas novena tradition alive. The Philippine Embassy sponsors its first mass each year.

A salo-salo followed the mass where participants shared traditional Christmas fares, including pansit, lumpiang Shanghai, hamon, and cassava cake.